March 13 - 19, 2011

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s March 13 - 19, 2011 “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.” (Ezekiel 33:6, New International Version) To skip the introductory slides and go straight to this weeks developments click here.

2. What is a Weekly World Watch? The idea is simple. It is to look at current events and compare them to events spoken of in the Bible. . I hope to build up a picture of God’s hand working in the affairs of this world. God is bringing about a day when all nations will be gathered to Jerusalem to battle. At that time God will send His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, back to this earth. Jesus will then establish God’s kingdom on earth. This kingdom will last for ever. This is our hope and the reason we watch. The following six themes will appear repeatedly in WWW: • Israel: The continuing conflict in the Middle East and focus on Jerusalem. • Europe: Its developing union, both political and religious. • Russia: Its return to anti-Western ways as Bible prophecy’s “king of the north.” • The UK and the US: Bible prophecy’s “king of the south.” • Moral standards in decline and violence on the increase. • Increasing natural disasters: including earthquake, famine etc WWW presentations in PowerPoint can be ordered as audio/visual CDs by clicking here. Move your mouse to place the cursor on the blue link and click.

3. BIBLE QUOTE What is in a Weekly World Watch? Each WWW looks at a few key developments that have happened during the past week. It is in no way meant to be exhaustive – just a look at those events I saw as significant from a Biblical point of view. Every WWW event slide has the following format. To reveal each block of text just left click your mouse or press the space bar. You control when it appears. News Photo This is straight from a news report that caught my eye because it looked significant from a Biblical perspective, usually that of prophecy. HEADLINE The source of the headline and the date are included. This is the reporter’s description of the event. It is always a direct quotation from the news report and reflects the understanding of the reporter and editors. EVENT This is my comment on why the event is interesting to a Bible student. The intention of the WWW is to offer brief Biblical perspectives without going into detail. If more detail is desired, please e-mail me: (andy@weeklyworldwatch.co.uk). COMMENT This is normally one verse which backs up why the event that has occurred is interesting from a Biblical perspective. Please read in its context. Unless stated otherwise, all quotes are from the King James Version.(Book, chapter, and verse)

4. This Week’s Developments March 13 - 19, 2011 • Japan raises nuclear alert level • Twin threats of Japan and Gulf stalk global recovery • Libya: British fighter jets get ready for war • Yemen unrest: 'Dozens killed' as gunmen target rally • 50 tons of weapons seized by Israel • Stand by to see the Supermoon To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. This is God talking to Jacob (Israel). Japan in effect “cursed” Israel. Japan raises nuclear alert level Click here to read full statement on Jerusalem by Japan’s government Daily Telegraph, March 19, 2011 Japan has raised the alert level at its quake-damaged nuclear plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale of atomic incidents. The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi site, previously rated as a local problem, is now regarded as having "wider consequences". The UN says the battle to stabilise the plant is a race against time. The crisis was prompted by last week's huge quake and tsunami, which has left at least 17,000 people dead or missing. Japanese nuclear officials said core damage to reactors 2 and 3 had prompted the raising of the severity grade. EVENT Earthquake, tsunami, potential nuclear meltdown and then this week the Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range in south-western Japan erupted sending ash and rock over two miles into the air. Over 15,000 people killed, 1.6 million homes destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people made homeless. The pictures are shocking.. almost unbelievable. So what does it all mean? Did God cause this specifically? Did God himself launch the earthquake and tsunami on Japan? You may want to consider this before you answer…. The earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on the 11th March 2011. Exactly one year before on the 11th March 2010 the government of Japan made a statement about Israel and Jerusalem. “The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem in addition to 112 units in West Bank. The Government of Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of Jerusalem and the territories in the pre-1967 borders. Japan demands that the plans should not be implemented.” The godless government of Japan should think before “cursing” Israel – God’s judges those who do…. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 27:29)

6. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Twin threats of Japan and Gulf stalk global recovery Daily Telegraph, March 15, 2011 As catastrophe at home prompts Japan to repatriate chunks of its vast wealth, it is pulling the rug from under stock and bond markets thousands of miles away. We are discovering once again that Japan is the world's top creditor by far with nearly £2 trillion of net assets overseas. The risk is doubly dangerous when combined with the fast-escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf, where Saudi Arabia's use of troops to suppress Shi'ite dissent in Bahrain risks a showdown with Iran. "People had thought global recovery was self-sustaining and now equity markets are starting to ask whether it might be snuffed out," said David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC. HSBC said the pattern after the 1987 crash, the 1998 Asia crisis, and Lehman's collapse, was that Japanese repatriation kicked in violently with a lag of a week. The impact may be greater this time given the trauma, and power-rationing as 11 nuclear reactors are shut down. EVENT The fallout from the disaster in Japan is only just beginning. We wait to see what happens with the nuclear situation. We also wait to see what happens to the economic situation. As the report above makes clear Japan is the world’s top creditor. It invests heavily in other nations assets. But now it needs money (and lots of it) so it begins to pull in huge amounts of its wealth from overseas. This can have a destabilising effect on currency’s and stock markets. Meanwhile, events in Bahrain at the epicentre of global crude supplies are potentially just as threatening. Saudi forces have been sent in to prop up Bahrain's Sunni king which have been described as an "act of war“. There is a revolution underway in a region that underpins the US economy and the dollar, said one expert. God is putting the nations in great fear as final judgement approaches…. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 9:16,19,20)

7. I will bring thee [Gog / Russia] forth, and all thine army, …: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey Libya: British fighter jets get ready for war Daily Telegraph, March 18, 2011 RAF warplanes will be in place “in the coming hours”, the Prime Minister told MPs. As Gaddafi’s forces regain ground from rebel forces, Britain “cannot stand back” and let the Libyan dictator kill his people indiscriminately, he said. “Any decision to put the men and women of our armed services in harm’s way should only ever be taken when it’s absolutely necessary,” Mr Cameron said. “But we simply can not stand back and let a dictator whose people have rejected him, kill his people indiscriminately.” RAF Tornadoes and Typhoons will take part in operations over Libya, Mr Cameron said. British refuelling and reconnaissance aircraft will also be deployed. “ In the coming hours they will move to airbases where they can start to take the necessary action,” he said. Military action follows a United Nations Security Resolution, backed by Britain, France and the US. The Arab League has also called for a no-fly zone, and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are expected to contribute forces to any military operation. EVENT It has not taken long for the revolutions sweeping around the Arab world to lead to the very brink of war. The United Nations has sanctioned military action against Libya. As this is being written war has not yet begun but it is likely to begin shortly. It is interesting which nations are going to potentially be involved in this attack. Britain has led calls for action. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also likely to be involved. These two nations are based in the ancient area of Dedan. The exact area associated with Tarshish (Britain) in Ezekiel 38. Again in Ezekiel 38 we have Libya attacking Israel with Russia. Therefore we see the nations lining up exactly as prophesied. We wait for the world’s attention to switch to Israel…. we know it will… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:4,5,13)

8. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; Yemen unrest: 'Dozens killed' as gunmen target rally BBConline, March 18, 2011 Unidentified gunmen firing on an anti-government rally in the Yemeni capital Sanaa have killed at least 45 people and injured 270, doctors told the BBC. The gunmen fired from rooftops overlooking the central square in what the opposition called a massacre. President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared a national state of emergency but denied his forces were behind the shooting. US President Barack Obama has condemned the violence, urging Mr Saleh to allow peaceful protests. In a statement, he said those responsible for Friday's violence "must be held accountable". Separately, France demanded an end to attacks "by security forces and armed pro-government groups... against people exercising their rights to free speech and demonstration", Reuters reports. Yassin Noman, rotating president of Yemen's umbrella opposition group, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying there was "no longer any possibility of mutual understanding" between the protesters and President Saleh, and he should resign. EVENT We are seeing people rise up against people (revolution) which is leading to nation rising against nation (war). This is really the meaning of Jesus' words in the Olivet prophecy “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”. Revolutions always lead to violence which often leads to war. It is this spirit (of revolution) that is being described in Revelation 16 that brings all nations to the great battle of Armageddon. Jesus also tells us that when he returns it will be like the days of Noah. The days of Noah were extremely violent. The horrific scenes above as gunmen shot randomly into a huge crowd killing and injuring so many surely make us think of the verse below and tell us the return of Christ must be so close… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 6:11-13)

9. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 50 tons of weapons seized by Israel Daily Telegraph, March 16, 2011 Some 50 tons of weapons have been seized by Israel on a ship bound for Egypt as it launched retaliatory airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Amongst the items unloaded from the Victoria, which was intercepted by Israeli naval commandos on Tuesday sailing from Turkey to Egypt, were six Chinese-manufactured missiles with a range of 21.7 miles. Israeli officials said the weapons were destined for Gaza and would have put Israeli ships in danger, "altering the military balance." Also unloaded from the Victoria, after it was escorted to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod , were two British-manufactured radar systems, 2,500 mortar shells, 2 missile launchers and almost 70,000 bullets. "Made in Britain" labels were attached to all of the crates, in an attempt to deceive whoever opened them. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, claimed the weapons, which were loaded in the Syrian port of Latika, originated in Iran - a claim dismissed by Teheran as "Zionist lies." EVENT Israel has not been in the news much over the last two weeks but this is not because events have stopped happening! They have just been overshadowed. The arming of the people surrounding Israel continues apace. Today (Saturday) a total of 54 mortars exploded in the Sedot Hanegev, Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions of the western Negev. Two people were lightly injured from shrapnel as five of the shells landed in two of the area's communities. Both the Palestinian leader and the Israeli leader will fly to Moscow next week for talks about the stalled peace process. Let us keep watching Israel during all the turmoil… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Luke 12:37-38)

10. Stand by to see the Supermoon Daily Telegraph, March 19, 2011 Tonight the moon will be closer to the earth than it has been for 18 years - a spectacular sight awaits us, says James Attlee. This weekend a new word rises over the horizon of the English language. The full Moon tonight has been designated a “supermoon” as it will be the nearest approach of the Moon to Earth for the past 18 years, bringing it some 30,000 miles closer than usual. If we have clear skies, this lunar event will be weighted with a special sense of expectation – perhaps, for some people, even dread. The astrologer who named it a “supermoon” predicted that its arrival would coincide with chaos on Earth, and points to the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan as evidence. The Moon’s closeness this weekend means that its usual gravitational pull on our tides will be intensified; we can expect high tides in two days. The oceans are not the only things that respond to the Moon’s approach; the Earth’s crust is not solid, but expands and contracts to a small degree in response to the Moon’s attraction, a phenomenon known as “earth tide”; a small increase in such tectonic shifts might be expected. EVENT We cannot know for certain if the closeness of the moon caused the plates to move but we do know the moon itself was given for a sign. We read in Genesis 1:14 “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs..” So the sun and moon are there as “signs”. The word sign can mean warning, omen, miracle or proof. As we see a “supermoon” being unusually close to the earth we see a sign. We signs in the physical heavens and we see signs in the political heavens. The signs tell us Jesus is about to return… COMMENT And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. BIBLE QUOTE (Luke 21:25-27)

11. Weekly World Watch The end of this week’s WWW will be e-mailed to you each week. Please forward the e-mail addresses of others who may be interested. I will include them in the list of recipients. Comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome. E-MAIL ANDY Click here (Move the mouse until the cursor appears.) To watch again, click here.